


Merry Christmas, Lara Jean

by silentcreatures



Category: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series - Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 17:01:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17227889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentcreatures/pseuds/silentcreatures
Summary: Lara Jean comes home for winter break from UNC, awaiting for her is her growing family. She is excited to be home and have quality time with the one and only Peter Kavinsky, who has the best Christmas present waiting to be opened.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ played throughout the small car as two out of three of the Song girls drove back to Virginia from Chapel Hill. Midterm exams finally had passed, Christmas Break had begun, and now it was officially time to go home. Everyone knew that freshmen weren’t allowed to have cars on campus so my only two options were someone picking me up or having to take a bus (which wasn’t my most ideal way of transportation, but there was something so romantic about leaning your head against the window and watching everything go by so quickly while being so high up). Margot arrived back home early from school, so she volunteered to pick me up, not minding the three and a half hour drive because the scenery was too beautiful to pass up.

“What’s on the agenda for when we get home, Lara Jean?” Margot asked while turning down the music a tad so we could hear each other. “It’s our first Christmas with Trina in the house so it should be something rather special” she added calmly, which I appreciated. From what Kitty told me, there has been zero fighting so far which is always a good sign.

“Well let’s just take a look at the list I’ve made up” I smirked over at my older sister before grabbing my notebook out of my bag and flipping it open with the help of a small ribbon connected to the bind. “First things first,” I began. “I know you and Kitty already started on the Cookie Bonanza, but I do want to make mine as soon as I walk through the door.” I paused and smiled a bit, thinking of the time when Kitty, Peter, and I were going through the magazines to pick out recipes. It was a bittersweet moment in our relationship, yet definitely still one of my personal highlights. “Then I have to wrap the presents for everyone. I know there’s a few in my bags but some were still sent to the house. Hopefully, a certain someone hasn’t gone through those...” We both chuckled. Kitty was always so nosy. “I’m forcing Peter to take me ice skating which should be fun, and he promised to help bake the cookies but I think we both know he’s only coming to eat everything.” 

Finally, after the small road trip from college to home, we parked in front of the house and began to pull my suitcases out of the trunk. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Nothing compared to the smell of fresh snow sticking to the ground and the cold wind pushing through the branches. “Are you going to help anytime soon?” Margot asked, breaking me from my trance. I gave her a shrug of amusement before pulling my backpack over my shoulders and grabbing two big bags of laundry that needed to be done.

“I’m home!” I called out, stepping through the front door, before being greeted quickly by Jamie. A few seconds went by, yet the house was still silent. I tilted my head slightly, confused until the voice of Kitty popped her head up and over the living room couch with her tablet on her chest.

“Oh, hey Lara Jean. Daddy and Tree went out for groceries. Your bed is all made up the way you like it” she said with a grin before lying back down to focus her attention back onto her tablet. I stood there in shock. Was that really the welcome back I just received from my younger sister? I know that I was just here a few weeks ago but you’d think I could get more than an ‘Oh, hey?’

“Hey! Katherine! That’s all you’ve got to say to your big sister? I don’t even get a ‘I missed you’ or ‘Welcome home?” I teased with a smile before dropping my bags and making my way over the couch. I hoisted myself over the back of the couch and landed on top of Kitty, causing her to grunt. I smirked before beginning to tickle her stomach furiously. Kitty immediately began to squeal with laughter as her arms shot up as a shield. Then she lifted her arms higher to wrap her skinny arms around my neck before pulling me in for a hug. I immediately stopped to hug her right back.

“Welcome home, Lara Jean. I missed you,” she said softly as she pulled away with a bright smile.

“Thanks” I said as I nudged her playfully before standing up again, adjusting my shirt. “I’m going to bring my bags up. Then we can start baking my batch of cookies” I said before nodding down to her. She nodded back promptly in agreement. I went back to the foyer, dropping my shoes to the side so the dogs couldn’t get to them and took the two large suitcases up the stairs. The laundry bags were gone so I could only assume Margot brought them to the laundry room for me. What a good big sister she was.

When I opened up my bedroom door, I was relieved to see nothing had changed. In movies, when kids move away for college their parents usually convert their room into something new like a gym or a sewing room. Of course, Daddy wasn’t known as one to work out and Trina preferred buying the highest fashions. But, it was always a possibility. I ran back down to grab the last two smaller bags before scurrying back up to my bedroom. Now that I was settled, I immediately flopped down onto my bed, stretching out my arms and leg like a starfish to take in the size. At school, the beds were only twin sized, so coming home to a full bed felt like heaven. After a few moments of enjoying my spacious bed, I pulled my phone out from my back jean pocket and open it to see a few recent messages from Peter. I couldn’t help but give a small smile as I opened and read:

DID YOU MAKE IT HOME ALRIGHT? I JUST GOT BACK MYSELF

LET ME KNOW WHEN I CAN COME OVER

Peter and I hadn’t seen each other in a month. Well, in person anyway. Lacrosse season was over now, but he did have plenty of workouts with his teammates. I could have gone to see him, but I wanted to focus on school; especially with exams so close. Although, we did facetime and text, so it wasn’t like we lost all connection. The last time we saw each other was over Thanksgiving break. Sadly, it was only a four-day weekend, but we made the most of it with him forcing me to my first real football game. Then, in return, me forcing him to the old drive in movie theater that had a special radio station to tune into in order to hear the movie. We had done it before, but that time it was just the two of us and it was absolutely perfect — and cold.

JUST GOT HOME, I’M SETTLING IN NOW.

I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT MY FAMILY HAS PLANNED FOR THE DAY, BUT I’LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOU CAN COME OVER.

I pressed send then stood back up to organize my things. I placed all of my clean clothes into the drawers and then stuffed away the Christmas presents I brought back from North Carolina in my closet for the time being. Just so no one could do any snooping. As far as I knew, there wasn’t any plans for going out so far so I took off my road trip clothes (jeans, a big UNC sweater, and wool socks) and exchanged them for a plaid nightgown to match the Christmas decorations around the house. I tied my hair up with a burgundy scrunchy before feeling my phone buzz once again. It was a response from Peter again. Just a heart and kissy face emoji. What a dork.

The Song girls were finally all together again, with Christmas music filling the house along with the smell of sugar cookies in the oven. They were plain but they were also a classic that no one should ever pass up on. Margot was mixing the dough for snickerdoodles while I was making the icing. This year we had decided to have a little contest to see who could make the best batch. Kitty sat against the breakfast counter with the mistake cookies as they were the only ones she was allowed to have. “So, Lara Jean” Kitty began, causing both Margot and I to look up for a moment to acknowledge her before continuing to work. 

“Yeah?” I asked while tying a rubber band around the top of the icing filled plastic bag to keep it from all pouring out.

“What did you get Peter for Christmas?” she asked with a slight smirk.

I looked up at her again and smirked back, lifting an eyebrow. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” I sang. 

“Oh, come on!” Kitty groaned. “I’ll tell you what I got him if you tell me what you got him!”  
“You got him a present?” I asked. Although, I really should have known. I had left it up to Peter to watch over her while I was away. Apparently, he took Kitty out to the diner for pancakes and to the movies to watch the horror films they both loved so much. I think he even took her and her friends bowling once, which only made me in love with him a little more. I loved how close they were. Plus, he helped me keep an eye on Kitty to make sure her teenage years weren’t too crazy.

“Yeah, I did. I used my whole allowance and everything. It’s really as a thank you for being the brother I’ve never had,” she said as she batted her eyelashes. I scrunched up my face as I heard a gasp come from Margot.

“Well now you’ll never know,” I stuck my tongue out to which she returned with a pout. It was very sweet of her though, I’ll give her that.

“Are those sugar cookies I smell?” a familiar deep voice called from the front door, immediately causing a smile to grow across my face. Our dad walked into the kitchen and met my eyes quickly. “Lara Jean!” he grinned. I hurried around the island and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. I missed him so much. I didn’t expect to that much in the begging of the semester, but I really did miss living without my dad and all of his home cooked meals (even the bad Korean food.)  
“Daddy, I missed you so much” I said, muffled by my face pushed into his jacket covered shoulder. He smiled as we held each other for a few seconds before I smelt familiar intense perfume mixing with the sweet scent of the cookies. I pulled away and saw Trina walk in with reusable grocery bags. She set them down and scurried over.

“Now give your wicked step mother a hug,” she laughed. I didn’t hesitate to go over and hug her just as tightly. “Wow,” she chuckled. “I think you’ve grown a few inches since I last saw you.” She then leaned down to plant a warm kiss onto my head.  
“Nah, still short,” I laughed before walking over to the clean side of the island to grab the remote and lower the music volume. Finally, the family was all here with everyone together in the same room. It was a sight that I kept in a special place of my heart.

“I hope the drive wasn’t too bad. The roads must have been icy,” Daddy began while putting groceries into the pantry as everyone else returned to their previous tasks.

“It was fine actually, everything melted by the time we left Chapel Hill,” Margot chimed. 

“I heard there’s supposed to be a snowstorm tonight, so you girls made it back just in time,” Trina added with a grin. You could tell she was happy to have more voices throughout the large house again.

“More snow? Maybe we’ll get lucky and have a snow day. That’ll make my winter break longer!” Kitty smiled as she daydreamed about having more days off. She did have one final day of school tomorrow, but afterwards she’d get ten days of freedom. 

“Maybe, if you’re lucky,” I said with a smile before setting the icing bags down and taking out the two sheets of cookies that were in the oven, then quickly placing them all on cooling racks. “We can hold the competition tonight. Winner gets to eat all the cookies”.

“Does that mean Peter is coming over?” Kitty asked with a hopeful look. I looked over to my dad who had just finished putting the bags away. He gave an approving nod.

“I don’t see why not.”

I smiled, pulling out my phone to send another text to Peter:

SEVEN O’CLOCK. BE READY TO ICE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT.


	2. Chapter Two

Six thirty came around rather quickly. I found myself up in my room trying to make myself look somewhat nice. It was only Peter, but after a month of not seeing each other I wanted to look a little nice for him (even though I would tell my family that it’s just what I always wear). I showered up and dried my hair before having Kitty put it into two French braids. I then put on a touch of mascara and dressed in a Christmas themed baby doll dress with woodland creatures all over it with black tights underneath and little sheer socks with foxes. It wasn’t much but it was a new dress and I just wanted to wear something other than a nightgown for once in front of Peter. I was just about to put back on my necklace he gave me from Valentines day when I heard a knock at the front door, I took a deep breath and quickly ran down the stairs to greet him, but Kitty just smirked over at me as she put her hand on the door knob and opened the door to greet him first. A quiet growl came out of me before I went down the last two steps and watched as Peter walked in along with a bit of the cold wind from outside. A slight shiver went down my spine. I couldn’t tell if it was from the nervousness or the cold air, but either way right there in front of me finally was Peter Kavinsky.

“Hey, Covey” he greeted with a smile, shimmying off his coat and kicking his overly large sneakers to the side before walking over to me and pulling me into a tight hug. “I missed you,” he mumbled against my neck,. I wrap my arms around him after taking a step back so the hug wouldn’t be awkward because of our height difference.

“Hey, Peter K,” I smiled as I ran my fingers through his messy hair, taking a breath of his scent. He always smelt the best; no matter if he had just gotten out of the shower or just finished working out. “I missed you more,” I whispered before watching as he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss against my lips, hesitating to go further knowing my family was nearby.

“Did you get all dressed up for me? You didn’t have to do that,” he chuckled as he pulled his face away from mine. 

“I did because I wanted to, not because you were coming over,” I replied curtly. 

“She’s wearing makeup,” Kitty suddenly called from the kitchen. I scowled in her direction before I heard Peter laugh again, then leaning down once more to kiss my cheek.

All four of us then sat at the dining room table, the bags of icing in the middle along with a full plate of sugar cookies next to them. The rules were that everyone has three cookies and you could only have five minutes to decorate each one. After all three were finished, they get judged by Daddy and Trina. Winner gets all the cookies and it's up to them if they share or not.

“This is no fair,” Peter pouted, pushing his scruffy hair back while Kitty distributed the cookies. “You all know how to decorate and be creative while I can barely make stick figures.”

“Is it because we’re girls?” Kitty challenged. I glanced over to Margot who only smirked as she waited for his response.

“Of course not,” he began. “It’s because you guys are so talented, and this is nowhere close to my expertise,” he sighed.

“Good answer,” Margot giggled as Daddy appeared with a timer in hand.

“Alright ladies and gentleman” he said with an over the top announcer voice which made us all laugh slightly. “You all know the rules. Five minutes per cookie. Winner takes all the dough home,” he said before laughing at his own pun followed by Kitty making a ‘ba dum tss’ sound effect.

“On your mark, get ready, set, go!” 

I quickly reached for the white frosting. There were two bags of each color so there was no need to fight for any specific one. My goal was to go traditional, like the ones you see at bakeries run by old ladies with ancient recipes that are somehow always amazing. I took a quick glance over at Peter to see him making what looked like an Easter egg which just made me giggle.

“Please don’t tell me you’re laughing at me already,” Peter groaned, yet refused to look away from his cookie as he concentrated on frosting. I quickly shook my head, yet my smile remained.

“Nope, just doing my own thing,” I replied, turning my attention back onto my cookies. 

The timer went off with a sharp ring causing me to jump slightly from the surprise. Kitty and Peter both groaned with frustration. Margot was first to show off her cookies. They were all covered with swirly designs. She definitely went out her comfort zone this year which was nice. I hadn’t quite finished mine but I made a, in my opinion, very classy ornament. After all the cookies were shown the table was filled with groans and playful trash talk as everyone wanted Lara Jean’s famous sugar cookies for themselves .

“Stop!” Dad suddenly called before smirking at the four of us, causing Peter to slouch from feeling defeated.

“Hey, maybe you’ll get some sympathy points” I smiled at him, setting my hand gently on his shoulder before he shrugged it off.

“You be quiet” he mumbled as I leaned over and planted a kiss against his cheek, causing a grin to appear on his lips.

The four of us laid out our cookies neatly on platter, each entirely different from the others. Kitty went down the artistic route, having colors mixed in with each other but she insisted that each cookie has a story. Margot’s cookies were “how she feels inside:” Christmassy yet chaotic (hence the spirals). But Peter won over everyone in the snort department. Apparently, each was supposed to be different landscape as his inspiration was Bob Ross.

“When have you ever watched Bob Ross?” I laughed along with my sisters, the only person who was showing any sign of being impressed was dad.

“Since I started to get bored at night and saw the episodes were on Netflix,” he pouted before I leaned my head onto him.

“They’re beautiful,” I reassured. “And way better than Kitty’s.”

“Hey!” Kitty yelled from across the table, making us erupt with laughter once again. 

Trina and dad were at the other end of the table decoding the winner leaving the four of us in suspense. I thought it was obviously going to be Peter to take the win as he seems to have the most dedication despite it not being very clear with what he had actually done.

“The votes are in” Trina suddenly announced with a serious expression on her face.

“This year’s contest was much closer than any other,” Daddy said. “Each contestant had their own originality and that’s what really counts at the end.” I could feel Peter’s leg shaking up and down against my hip from his anticipation.

“The winner is… Lara Jean!” Trina and daddy both announced followed by their claps. My mouth dropped agape before I looked around at my fellow contestants. Margot was the only one clapping politely while Kitty looked absolutely distraught. Peter, on the other hand, looked like he was about to start chucking the cookies at the wall any second.

“What are you going to do with your winnings, LJ?” Daddy asked as I stood up, gathering up all the cookies and bringing them in towards myself.

“Hm, I think I might just eat all the cookies by myself,” I chimed with a smirk as I began to lift one up to my mouth. 

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Peter exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest.

I just smiled before letting out an exaggerated groan, sliding over a cookie to each person. “Fine, I guess I’ll share,” I said, bringing everyone to delight once more. 

After cleaning up and putting any extra cookies into containers, Peter insisted he took me out to the diner for dinner. My dad excused me from family dinner but told us to be careful because of the snow. We promised I’d be home before eleven and then we were off towards our favorite restaurant. Once we parked in the middle of the row of cars, Peter leaned over and held my face in his hands. His large thumb traced my cheekbone before leaning over and kissing me with far more passion than our previous kiss.

“That’s a much better hello,” I smiled after pulling back slightly, staring into his brown eyes that sparkled from the neon ‘Open’ sign.

“Well it’s not like I could do that in front of your dad,” he grinned as he unbuckled his seat belt. After doing the same, we stepped out of the car and walked hand in hand into the diner.

Everything was the same. The smell, the sounds, the aesthetic. It was a relief to know that our place was the same as it always was. Peter and I walked over to our booth, that was conveniently always open for some reason, and set our coats down on the side. I ordered my usual black cherry coke with grilled cheese and fries while Peter went for blueberry pancakes. I had to admit, no one back at school could make grilled cheese sandwiches like how they did there. Sadly, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find anyone who could top the diner. Yet, maybe that was a good thing. 

“So, Covey,” Peter began as the tugged the wrapper off his straw.

“So, Kavinsky,” I smiled, taking a sip of my soda.

“How much have you missed me?”

“Well not very much,” I sipped again. “We talk every day and face time three times or a more a week, it’s hard to miss you.”

“Oh,” he muttered sadly and looked down at his lap.

“I’m only kidding, Peter K. Of course, I missed you,” I reassured with a warm smile. He lifted his head up once again to meet my gaze but made a face. I couldn’t help but laugh before making one back naturally.

Our food came rather quickly, probably because it was quite late and there were hardly any customers besides us. I hadn’t had a proper meal all day, so I began scarfing my food down as if my life depended on it. Peter tried to steal a few fries, but I had quickly slapped his hands away. After the fifth time, I was getting pretty tired of being distracted from eating, so I let out a quiet warning growl in his direction. He put his hands up in surrender which only made me giggle and give in to giving him a few fries. Of course in return he shared some of his pancakes with me.

After finishing, the two of us jogged through the snowy lot and made it into the car to get warmed up once again. Like a normal person in below 0 weather, I was shivering. Peter, on the other hand, had no problem with the chilly air. We then carefully drove back home. We didn’t need to rush, but I could tell that Peter wanted to be on my dad’s good side and fulfill his promise to get me home early. We parked right in the front behind Margot’s car and sat for a few minutes to relax.

“So, what did you get me for Christmas?” Peter asked with a cheeky smile, taking my hand off my lap and put it against the side of his face. I smile slightly and glance out the windshield to watch the snow build up.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I countered, my smile turning into a clever smirk watching as Peter let out a defeated groan.

“Oh, come on. You gotta tell me so I can top it’”

I rolled my eyes and unbuckled my seat belt. “Fine I’ll tell you what I got you,” I said softly.

Peter beamed. “Really? What?” 

I took hold of the door handle and retrieved my other hand that had been captured by Peter. 

“This,” I smiled, leaning in slightly to kiss him. But at the last second I grabbed my bag, pulled back away and bolted out of the car. “Merry Chrysler!”

“Hey!” Peter called, hanging his head out the window with a pout. Probably wasn’t sure if he was more disappointed about losing out on a kiss or not finding out what I was getting him. 

“Goodnight, Peter!” I called back between my laughter, giving him a quick wave before hurrying inside and closing the door behind me.

My phone immediately buzzed once inside. I pulled it out of my pocket to see a text from Peter. 

I LOVE YOU. 

I LOVE YOU TOO. I replied.


End file.
